Flags at Half Staff

The Flags at City Hall were lowered to half staff following President Trumps flag proclamation. The President issued this proclamation to honor the Philadelphia victims of last weeks senseless violence. While we as American might disagree about many thing we all will agree that this type of senseless violence has no place in our society. Please remember to keep the friends and  family of the victims in your thoughts and prays this week as they start the healing process.  Robert Bowers violent attack in the Pennsylvania Synagogue arose out of hate due to ignorance and intolerance. We must all work together to fight the rise of hate in order to prevent this type of senseless loss of life in the future. We need to work from a base of mutual respect to understand each others views, thoughts, culture and values.

Welcoming Fall

October 30, 2018

We just finished a wonderful fall festival this weekend where visitors and residents were able to come and enjoy all the wonderful pumpkin decorating and corn stocks. I saw many people relaxing on hay rides , enjoying local treats, listing to some local ghost stories or possibly seeing a musical at the Mantorville Theater Company. Thank you to all those folks that helped out this year to make this event another success. One of the things I really enjoy about the campaign season  is that it offers me an opportunity to go door to door and talk to all of our neighbors in town one on one and really get to know each other. Even those connection that I have already made often share new information and observations. Many times these ideas have a common theme and I like to collect these themes and present them back to council for action. I really enjoy seeing these conversations turn into action from the City Council.  I have had so many conversations with many of you via email, Facebook, phone calls and posts on my blog. I always find the face to face conversations the most rewarding because it helps build actual relationships as well as share information. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and  ideas with me. This collaboration has made our community stronger.

A Call for Volunteer Committee Members:
The City Council is forming a Citizens Committee on Safety for the 9th Street changes. We are still looking for a couple of citizens that would be interested in serving on our streets safety commission. Those people interested in serving our community can submit their contact information with the City Clerk at City Hall.

City Candidates Debate:
That you again to the Mantorville Senior Center for providing a venue for the recent debate. Thank you also to the Chamber for arranging this forum. Larry Dobson and other volunteers did a great job emceeing and moderating the form. There were some great questions for all of the candidates to reflect on and I think this was a great opportunity to get to meet all the candidates. I really appreciated the great discussions I had after the forum with many folks. I will get some of the questions from the debate and my answers to them on my blog within the next few days. My blog is located at mayorbradford.blogspot.com. After the debate I meet a young person that said he wanted to be involved, we will work with him and defiantly utilize his energy and passion to help strengthen our community.

Recent Council Successes:
The last few years have been so busy and it easy to loose track of some of the great work the City Council has been able to accomplish. In January, I always publish a State of the City article, but I wanted to highlight a few of our successes early.

Froze or reduced the tax rate for each of the last six years
Secured $1.8M in grant funds for our sewer project
Implemented a new “City Brand”
The Secretary of State visited Mantorville to discuss our new Branding Efforts
Continued lower tax rates
Attracted two new sub divisions
Added non-tax based revenue from AT&T lease agreement
Implemented a lifetime pet license
Offered a City Revolving loan fund
Completed new Waste Water Treatment plant connection
Hosted the Southeastern Minnesota League of Municipalities quarterly meeting
Leveraged the Joint venture to facilitate cost sharing across the School Board, City of Kasson and City of Mantorville
There are so many more successes it would be easy to fill a page, but I just wanted to share a few of the milestones we have seen in that last years. I am so proud of our Citizens, Volunteers, property owners and everyone together that all call ourselves “Mantorville”.

Yours in service,

Chuck Bradford
Mayor - City of Mantorville
MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.Com
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

The Great Debate

October 20, 20189

9th Street:
The City Council is forming a Citizens Committee on 9th Street safety. We are still looking for a couple of citizens that would be interested in serving on our streets safety commission. Those people interested in serving our community can submit their contact information with the clerk at City Hall.


The Great Debate:
There will be a debate for all those candidates which are seeking public office with the City of Mantorville. The debate is going to be held on Thursday, October 25 starting at 7:00pm at the Mantorville Senior Center (601 Clay St in Mantorville, Minnesota 55955). The moderator for our debate is going to Larry Dobson, and questions for the debate can be sent to  cnceditor@kmtel.com If you have question or would like to meet those running for City office please join us for this forum which is open to the public.

5th Street:
The Township road work has mostly completed, and road is open for two lanes. The portion of fifth street that the City is rebuilding remains under construction and traffic for the Mantor Drive and Bergmann Drive areas should still go around using the township road.

Yours in service,

Chuck Bradford

Mayor - City of Mantorville
MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.Com
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

Dodge County Independant Questions

VOTER’S GUIDE 2018
STEELE COUNTY TIMES/DODGE COUNTY INDEPENDENT QUESTIONNAIRE
(Because of space constraints, please
limit your responses to no more than 75 words per question.)

NAME: 
Chuck Bradford a proud father, husband and public servant who has always felt a very strong sense of pride and identity being a citizen of Mantorville. My wife and I treasure this community because of it's historic beauty, lower cost of living, and enriched educational system. These values were powerful motivators as I felt a sense of duty to promote and protect our community.

PARTY AFFILIATION (if applicable):
 Mayor is a non-partisan role; however, I have been active in the Republican Party.

PERSONAL BACKGROUND/WORK EXPERIENCE:
Served on both elected and appointed positions within our community. Elected Positions are: National Alternate Delegate, Mayor (3 terms), Councilman, Chair Dodge County Republicans, Deputy Chair First Congressional District. Appointed positions are: Park Board Commissioner, Acting Mayor, Personnel board, Finance Committee, Planning and Zoning Commissioner, Economic Development Commissioner . Working as a professional computer engineer for over 25 years I have lead self directed teams, served as department leader and worked directly with “C” level executives on company wide IT initiatives. My wife and I have started and ran small businesses.

IDENTIFY THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE FACING THE GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY/JURISDICTION YOU’RE RUNNING FOR, AND PROVIDE SPECIFIC DIRECTION ON HOW YOU WOULD IMPLEMENT AND EFFECT CHANGE WITH IT:
The City has finished the Waste Water Treatment plant and now we can circle back and focus on infrastructure. The City Engineer along with our streets personnel annually examine each street and form a “Street Survey” report. The Council uses this report to determine the priority for the next street projects. The City's number one priority over the next two years will be focusing on street repairs, including a major highway 57 reconstruction.

WHY DO YOU FEEL YOU ARE THE BEST CANDIDATE FOR THE JOB:
I see public service as an opportunity to serve. Being Mayor involves calmly listening to citizens who are often passionate about their concerns. I have always given our fellow neighbors the opportunity and time to be heard. It is important for a Mayor to represent the citizens of Mantorville and not their own personal motives. I have testified in front of the State Legislature, helped run a small business on limited resources and championed our lower tax rate.

WHAT HAS INFLUENCED YOU THE MOST TO RUN FOR OFFICE:
The reason we fell in love with Mantorville in the first place was it's historic charm. I feel it is very important to maintain this historic character while leveraging our future. The City needs to maintain a lower tax rate and also protect our historic assets. The City is currently looking at improving the historic nature of our City with the burial of the over-head power lines and the planning for architectural street lighting for the downtown area.

WHAT GOALS DO YOU WHAT TO ACCOMPLISH IN OFFICE:
We need to work on our sidewalks within the City and focus on street repairs, while maintaining a lower tax rate. This will continue to be a challenge going forward as many of our streets need repair; however, simply raising our taxes to a much higher level will have detrimental affects on our City's ability to grow.

WHAT STRATEGIES WOULD YOU IMPLEMENT TO MAKE SURE SOMETHING GETS DONE WHILE IN OFFICE:
Effective leadership means leveraging your field experts, holding staff accountable and providing a high level vision for the direction of the City. I will continue to encourage citizen input at Council meetings, continue conducting staff performance reviews and push for reasonable tax rates.

WHAT IS SOMETHING IN YOUR PAST THAT HAS MOST PREPARED YOU TO RUN FOR OFFICE AND SERVE THE PUBLIC:
When we moved to town we were meet with so much warmth and encouragement to serve we immediately felt like part of the community. I served on individual project committees like installing play ground equipment and helping design the City's current welcome signs and flags. When I saw the City moving in a direction that would weaken the future for our children, I wanted to take action to be part of the solution to ensure a better future for all those growing up in Mantorville.

Star Harold Campaign Questions

1. Name:
Chuck Bradford a proud father, husband and public servant who has always felt a very strong sense of pride and identity being a citizen of Mantorville. My wife and I treasure this community because of it's historic beauty, lower cost of living, and enriched educational system. These values were powerful motivators as I felt a sense of duty to promote and protect our community.

2. Community where you live:
Living in the City of Mantorville, I have been a member of ad-hoc community organizations formed to better the community as well as more formal groups. As a member of the Kasson-Mantorville Lions club, I have served my community by raising money and working on community improvement projects. My volunteerism has served both Dodge and Olmsted counties promoting tourism, local projects and policy issues. I also volunteer on the Welch Village Ski Patrol where I help provide emergency medical assistance to injured skiers. I understand that serving, as an elected official is the highest form of community service.

3. How long have you lived in the district you will represent?
Abby and I have lived in Mantorville since 2004, we fell in love with the community when we first saw the historic charm of the community. After buying a house all our neighbors made us feel so welcomed. We knew we had made the right decision. Almost immediately we meet so many great people that invited us to take an active role in the town. Public service is my way of repaying the community for the warmth we have received.

4. Family information you would like to share
Abby and I have been married for over 30 years. We have two beautiful children, a 10 year old son named Spencer and a 9 year old daughter named Sandra. One of my driving motivations for running for office is my desire to leave an even better State and City for Spencer and Sandra than the one in which I was raised. I have leveraged this passion to fight for the citizens of Mantorville.

5. Party affiliation, if applicable
Mayor is a Non-Partisan office; However I am active with the Republican Party

6. Education:
BS from Iowa State University

7. Experience
Lobbied the State Bonding Committee for help with construction of the new Treatment Plant. The result was a $1.8 million dollar contribution from the State. During my six years as Mayor, the City has yet to raise the tax rate for property taxes. In fact the rate for 2018 went down by 7%.  I even went as far to donate my full net salary back to keep the tax rate from raising. I believe responsible stewardship for the City includes maintaining our heritage while promoting economic growth.

8. Website:   
ChuckBradford.Com

9. Social media:
mayorbradford.blogspot.com/
Facebook.com/CBradford

10. Email address:
MantorvilleMayor@GMail.com

October Street Update

October 9, 2018

9th  Street:
During the October 8th meeting of the City Council, a number of our neighbors voiced their concerns about the removal of the stop signs along 9th street. The  City Council has been working with Dodge County to try to improve the safety along 9th street. The first part of this effort was to follow some of MNDOT's recommendations for a “collector” street, which involved the removal of the stop signs. Several studies have shown that wrongly placed stop signs give a false sense of safety along such streets. This was always planed to be a multi-faced approach. The City Council had a great conversation with those that were at the meeting and everyone that wanted to voice their concerns were given the opportunity to do so. The Council then gave some answers to the questions that were posed. The Dodge County Sheriff's Office was in attendance as was the Dodge County Engineer. Scott Rose presented the observations that the Sheriff's office was asked to collect on speed limit compliance. Guy Kohnhofer presented information about the studies that have been published about the use of stop signs for speed control and safety, presented information regarding permitted uses of traffic control devices and lead a discussion on areas to look at for improving safety. During the discussions several of our neighbors indicated they would like to be on a committee to look into, and help implement the next phases of this effort. The City Council will be forming a Citizens Committee on 9th Street safety composed of a professional engineer, an elected official, two citizens along 9th street and the hopefully someone from the school system. I would like to thank everyone that showed up last night to share their thoughts and offered to help find a solution. The City Council will continue to monitor the safety on this street and make additional changes as needed until we can improve the safety along 9th street. The Sheriff's Office will be a vital partner in this effort and has been asked to help monitor speed in the area and issue any appropriate citations.

5th Street:
The fall of 2018 has been especially wet, and this has caused several issues with our timeline for 5th street. We continue to closely monitor the progress of the street construction. The construction crew has road closed signs up with a traffic gap to allow for construction vehicles to enter and exit, I want to remind everyone that this is for construction vehicles only. The road bed between Mantor Drive and Blanch Street has been excavated down to dirt and with two weeks of rain has become extremely soft. I am aware of at least one incident where a individual attempted to drive through the construction portion and needed to be pulled out by a tow truck. The construction crew has been working on weekends trying to make up for some lost time on this project. The City has reached out to the Township and is trying to coordinate our projects so that we don't encounter simultaneous road closures. Once we have some dry weather and are able to determine a completion date, I will updated everyone on our progress. I appreciate everyone's continued patience as we make this much needed repair.

Yours in service,

Chuck Bradford
Mayor - City of Mantorville
MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.Com
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

Township Road Work on

The township is planning on upgrading 608th street to the East of Mantorville. This is the same street that the residents on Bergmann and Mantor drive are using during the 5th street construction. The City's Engineer has been in contact with Mantorville Township and they have shared with us that they plan to do all work "under traffic" which means there will be times during the construction that the road will be down to one lane; however, traffic will be able to move through with the help of flaggers so that the citizens that would normally use 5th street will have a route out of the City.

9th Street Stop Signs Update

During the October 8th City Council meeting the City Council and a group of citizens had about an hour and a half discussion on the removal of the stop signs along 9th street. The City had the opportunity to hear from The Dodge County Engineer, The Dodge County Sheriffs office, the citizens that live on or near 9th street as well as our council members. During the discussion a few citizens stepped up to volunteer to be on a "Community Safety Council" which will serve as an advisory council to the City Council regarding suggestions to increase and promote safety along 9th street as well as other streets in the community. The Sheriff's office did offer to listen to observations from citizens in the area and is willing to "have a conversation with the owners of repeat offending vehicles". The County Engineer said that he will forward a list of recommendations based off MNDOT studies that should help address safety concerns. The Citizens council will review these recommendation and prioritize efforts that should work best within our community. Look for updates on this blog, on the cable channel, in future articles in the DCI and at the bottom of your utility bill.

Decorating the Town

The MRA agreed to pay for corn stocks to decorate the town. This was an original tradition for several years and it was over-looked the last couple of years. John Olive arranged the labor and trailer for this project and the MRA donated the materials. Thank You John Olive and the Mantorville Restoration Association.

5th Street remains non-passable

The road construction on 5th street remains closed to through traffic. On Friday October 5th a car attempted to make it up to Mantor drive coming from the West. The picture of the construction area below shows the condition of the sub-road after two weeks of rain. Access to Bergmann and Mantor drive continues to be from the East.

5th Street Sub Road Condition